Unlikely Savior
by ROSSELLA1
Summary: When Will is raped, he is rescued by someone he thought was an enemy.
1. Chapter 1

Ch1

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own a Knight's tale or any of its characters.

"Well, I'm off to bed!" Will said rising from his seat and clapping Roland on the shoulder.

"Aww you can't leaves wisout anotha drink!" Watt cried out, standing to stop him but tripping over his own chair, eliciting laughs from everyone around their table.

"Can't. Tournament starts tomorrow. Need my rest." Will pointed to Geoff who was talking to two men across the room. "Watch him. Make sure he doesn't gamble our lives away." Then amid his friends protests he left the pub and headed back towards the tournament grounds. Shortly after being defeated in the last tournament Count Adhemar had elected to host one of his own, and as Will was never one to back down from a challenge, he had enlisted.

As he made his way, Will heard the sound of drunken laughter and a group of men stumbled out from an alleyway on his side. Shaking his head, Will kept walking.

"Oy! Lich-thingy!" Will gritted his teeth and kept on walking. Most people had forgotten his earlier… transgression, but there were still those who held it against him. He'd found though that it was best to ignore them and move on. However, this method didn't work this time.

"Hey, Lichtenstein!" Another called out, "We're talking to you!"

With a sigh, he forced a smile onto his face and turned to face them. "I'm sorry sir, you seem to be confused. I'm Sir Thatcher. What can I do for you?"

"Sir Thatcher! Getting high and mighty now aren't you?"

He heaved another sigh and turned around. He hadn't walked more than a few paces when a hand landed on his shoulder. Reflexively, he brought his elbow back into the man's stomach. That one let go, but he was instantly grabbed by two more. He managed to knock one off but the other had recovered and slugged Will in the stomach.

"You little bastard!" The man hissed and hit him again. "You're going to pay for that."

Will felt himself being dragged into the alley. "RRR, Let me go!" He tried to break free again but their grip was too tight. "I'm a-"

"You are a commoner just like us!" The leader growled, throwing him up against the wall. "And I think you need reminding."

Will's eyes widened as he felt the man's hands slide to his pants. "No!" He started struggling even more violently but was only rewarded with another punch in the stomach. Moaning from the pain of the repeated blows, he dropped to his knees.

"That's right," The man laughed and Will felt his pants being yanked off. "Take it like the bitch we both know you are." There was a moment's pause and then Will let out a cry as the man penetrated him.

….

It was nearly midnight when Count Adhemar rode his horse into the village. Honestly, he had thought that hosting a tournament would be a good way to regain his reputation, but it was much more difficult than he had expected. The past few weeks had been nothing but preparations and tonight he was just getting finished with some technicalities.

The Count was passing an alley way when a low moan startled him. Halting his horse, Adhemar peered into the alley to see a crumpled figure. He sighed; probably a drunk who had gotten into a fight and taken one too many punches. Still, best not to let it be known that a brawl had occurred on his land during the tournament.

Dismounting he walked over to the entrance. "You there. Get up." All he got in response was another groan. Growling he approached the figure and nudged it with the toe of his boot. "Hey I said- Thatcher?" Adhemar said, taken aback as he recognized the man lying at his feet, his voice now barely above a whisper. The other gave a small moan and opened his eyes a bit. They widened in shock when they saw who it was and the man scooted back , but Adhemar had recovered from the surprise. "Come now Thatcher, none of that." He reached out and placed a hand on the other man's shoulder. "Let's-"

"Don't touch me!" Thatcher cried out, causing Adhemar to jerk back in surprise.

"Thatcher…" Adhemar said softly. "I know this is hard to believe, but I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to see what happened." The slightly younger male didn't look reassured but didn't back away again; Adhemar suspected he didn't have the strength too. Truth be told, Adhemar was tempted to leave him there, but now that Thatcher knew that Adhemar had seen him… if word got out that Adhemar hadn't helped the other there would be a scandal and no doubt the Prince would get involved again and it was just so inconvenient. Sliding his hands under the other's arms, he started to hoist his rival to his feet, only to find dead weight. "Can't you at least help support your own weight? Are your legs broken?" He looked down and noticed for the first time that Will's pants were pooled at his ankle. Grimacing, he pulled them back up and lifted the other into his arms and then onto his horse. "Don't worry Thatcher, we'll get you looked at." He whispered, as reassuringly as he could, and rode off towards his castle.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch2

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own a Knight's tale or any of its characters. Also, I don't think they said Adhemar's horse's name in the movie so I'm naming him myself in this chapter (he seems like the type of person that would know the name of his horse but not those of his servants to me so that's why I'm not naming any of them).

Adhemar rode through the gate and up to the door. One of his servants met him at the door. "Sir, are you-"

"Take Cavalier!" Adhemar dismounted, Thatcher in his arms, and threw the reins to the servant. "Take care of him and put him away."

He continued into the castle and headed up the stairs. Bumping into a servant on the way, he told that one to fetch the doctor and then went on to one of the guest bedrooms. He lay his rival down on the bed and stood back against the wall.

It was a good fifteen minutes before the doctor arrived, during which Adhemar had little to do but to wait and watch. Once or twice he tried to take Thatcher's shirt off in order to see the severity of the wounds, but every time Adhemar came near the boy flinched. With a sigh, he stepped away from the bed and leaned against the wall.

…..

Will's head was pounding so hard it made it damn near impossible to think. Not that he wanted to, though; he'd have given anything right now not to remember, not to know what had happened.

"You know I can't very well help you if you don't let me near you." Came Adhemar's exasperated drawl from somewhere to Will's right.

In reply, Will simply turned his head away from the man. As far as he was concerned, Adhemar could go to Hell. Will had no idea why the man had helped him; probably to protect his precious tournament or perhaps to lord it over Will that Will owed him, but that didn't make any difference. He wished Adhemar had just left him there. It would have been bad enough having his friends see him like this, but he could deal with that; he didn't know if he could handle his rival seeing him in this state.

There was a knock and the door opened to reveal a young boy. "Doctor Cromwell." He announced, and then bowed out of the room, being replaced by a taller man carrying a bag.

"Milord." He nodded to Adhemar and then approached the bed. "Now what do we have here?" He asked Will cheerfully. Subconsciously, Will slid farther beneath the sheets. His smile lessening, the doctor looked curiously up at Adhemar.

"He was beaten and raped." Adhemar replied casually. "Beyond that I don't know. Just take care of him and come let me know what to do after you are done."

"Yes, sir." Cromwell nodded, more grave than before and bent over his patient as Adhemar, his part being done, left the room without a backward glance.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch3

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own a Knight's tale or any of its characters. 

"Back to work now!" Adhemar growled, pushing through the servants that had crowded around the door. No doubt word of the curious visitor had reached them and they had come to investigate. But he wasn't paying them to just stand around. "Go on now, all of you!" They quickly dispersed, fearing their master's wrath, until only his herald was left.

"Is it true, milord?" Germaine asked, falling into step beside the Count.

" Is what true?" Adhemar replied flippantly.

"That _you_ took in a wounded pauper?"Germaine tried to hide a grin.

"Not as if I had much choice." Adhemar shrugged.

"Meaning?"

"If word got back to the Prince that I left his _pet_ lying injured in an alley then doubtless I'd find myself short of everything beyond the bare means to live."

Germaine hesitated in his gait. "…I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Thatcher."

The Herald's eyes widened, "Sir _William_ Thatcher?" He asked in disbelief.

The Count scoffed. "Who else?"

"And you took him in?"

"Obviously."

"But why?"

Adhemar growled. "I just told you!"

Germaine looked like he was about to protest but in the end just shook his head. "So what happened?"

Adhemar hesitated, then decided against protecting his rival. "I found him in an alley. Beaten and raped. No doubt some drunkards on their way home decided to have some fun."

This time Germaine stopped, in shock. "Raped?"

The Count nodded. "And beaten."

"Well, what are you going to do?"

Adhemar shrugged. "What I'm bound to do. Fix him up and send him on his way."

"Do you _really_ think it will be that easy?" Germaine asked, the closest to stern any of Adhemar's servants ever dared to get with him.

Taken aback Adhemar, opened his mouth to reprimand him for his boldness, when he was interrupted by a clatter from behind. Coming from the room they had just left.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch4

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own a Knight's tale or any of its characters. 

Exchanging glances Count Adhemar and Germaine turned back to the room. They threw open the door and were met with an alarming sight. The Doctor was backed up against the wall, while Will was leaning against the foot of the bed, poker in hand.

"K-keep aw-w-"Was all Will managed to stammer out before his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.

Instantly, the Doctor rushed over and felt the man's pulse. "He's going into shock!" He exclaimed. Adhemar and Germaine hurried to the pair's side.

"What happened?" The Count asked.

"I tried to undress him to see the… damage and he went into a flashback." The Doctor stated. "Now help me get him up under the covers and put his feet up on the headboard." Adhemar raised an eyebrow, but did as the Doctor ordered.

"Do you still think it's going to be easy?" Germaine asked.

"Not now!" The Count growled.

Cromwell glanced up. "If you talking about him," He gestured towards Will, "I'm afraid your herald is right; rape isn't something one just "gets over"."

"I didn't mean-" Adhemar started.

"In fact, he may never be able to have normal relationships again." Cromwell continued.

Adhemar held up a hand. "I never said that he-"

"It'll be your responsibility to help him recover. This will-"

"Excuse you," Adhemar cut in, "How is it my responsibility?"

Both Cromwell and Germaine looked up at him. "Well," The Doctor replied slowly, eyes widened. "You were the one who found him and-"

"And I took him in; I think that I've fulfilled my duty to the man." Adhemar said coldly.

"But, milord," Germaine interrupted, "It's your tournament, shouldn't you ensure that he…well, shouldn't you help him?"

Adhemar growled gesturing towards Cromwell. "Well, that's what the Doctor's here for. He can stay until he's healed but that's it; that's all I owe him."

"But that's what I'm trying to tell you." Cromwell explained. "Physically it shouldn't take too long, but emotionally he-" The Doctor was cut off by the sound of a small moan. Startled, all of them looked down at the injured knight. Will gave a small stir and wearily blinked his eyes open.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own a Knight's tale or any of its characters.

"Mmm..." Will groaned as he blinked his eyes open.

"Are you still alive, Thatcher?" A familiar voice drawled from over him.

Will narrowed his eyes at the figures heads floating above him. Adhemar, Geo...ger...something that started with a G, and the stranger who had tried to touch him. With a pang of guilt he realized that this must be the doctor. "I-I'm sorry." He whispered.

"For what?" Adhemar's squire asked abruptly. "You haven't done anything wrong."

"I hit the doctor." Will frowned in confusion. What did the man think he was talking about?

"Oh..." Germaine! That was his name! Germaine looked away, clearly uncomfortable. At what? Why- oh... Will let his head fall to the side.

"That's quite alright, son." The doctor said. "My name is Doctor Cromwell and your frien-Count Adhemar has charged me with your care."

"I'm sorry." Will muttered.

"Honestly, Thatcher, if you grovel anymore the Prince will have to revoke your knighthood." The Count sneered, causing Germaine and Cromwell to flash him angry glances.

Will was about to snap out an angry retort, but then remembered that Adhemar had quite possibly saved his life and had apparently opened up his home to him. "Thank you, Count Adhemar, for your hospitality." He gritted out, seething.

Adhemar snorted and then cursed, looking angrily at Germaine. "What the-"

"We are happy to give it." Germaine replied making a small bow. "It is only our duty."

Cromwell saved him from having to answer. "Well, if Sir Thatcher is feeling... more comfortable, I think it would be best if we were left alone so I can tend to his wounds."

"You're kicking me out of my own room?" Adhemar lifted an eyebrow.

"Mi'lord, I don't think it would be beneficial to-" Cromwell began.

"It's fine." Will interrupted. Adhemar's eyes widened in what seemed to be surprise, then he turned a smug smile on Cromwell. "It's his home...if he wants to stay..." Will trailed off. In truth, while the doctor seemed nice enough, Will didn't know him and right now he didn't want to be left alone with anyone unless he was sure they wouldn't... Well, while Adhemar was a prick Will trusted him more than someone he'd never met.

"Well," Cromwell coughed, "if it's fine with you then I guess..." He shifted. "Well, I guess we should… that is I think we need to…we-"

"Get on with it." Adhemar snapped and for once Will had to agree with him. It was bad enough his rival had seen him…well, it was humiliating. But he didn't need a stranger's pity.

Cromwell coughed again. "I think we need to take your clothes off so that I can examine and dress your wounds."

Will gritted his teeth. "Fine." He hissed. He didn't want to take his clothes off but neither did he want people thinking of him as some weakling who couldn't handle misfortune. Cromwell moved to take off Will's shirt but Will waved him away. "I'll do it!" He tore his shirt off over his head and instantly regretted it as a flash of pain ripped through his back. He cried out and lost his grip on the shirt.

"Easy, Thatcher." Adhemar reached forward and steadied him. Then hissed.

"Dear Lord!" Will heard Cromwell gasp.

"What?" He growled, looking up. Neither one answered him. "What?" He asked again after a moment.

The Count swallowed. "Nothing. Cromwell?"The doctor was still staring. Following his gaze Will looked down at his chest and winced. All over his once pale skin, were long vertical cuts, leaving not an inch of his chest unscathed.


End file.
